Wang Chi House residents arrived at the block on Thursday for the second and final day of collecting belongings from their homes, with dozens packing light to make room for valuables and important documents.
Those returning on the second day had not been home since the fire broke out on Wednesday last week. The blaze lasted for 43 hours and killed at least 159 people, including a firefighter.
Wang Chi House was the sole tower block among the eight at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court to be unaffected by the inferno.
Some elderly residents, who had owned flats in the block since the estate was built in 1983, told the Post that their roots were in Tai Po and that they would like to stay in their homes if they were allowed to.
Other residents who had called the place home since childhood said they did not want to uproot their lives.